No young band from the Twin Cities has taken off faster in the past year, especially in the UK. A deal last summer with indie giant Rough Trade led to a significant hit with the single “Told You Once”, and that in turn led to a British tour playing support for The Vaccines last fall, on which the fresh-faced band was playing medium-to-large venues for fans who were singing along with every word.

FIDLAR (Los Angeles, CA) came together in the last few years and have made up a lot of ground in only 12 months managing to cut through the clutter of garage/surf/punk bands out there...

When Indie on the Move launched (www.indieonthemove.com) in late 2008, the site was fairly simple: a free online database of music venues and booking information for DIY (“do it yourself”) touring musicians. Add the ability for the users themselves to not only rate and review a venue’s reputation, but to add other venues not already in the system, and suddenly you have an exciting new player in a tired old game.

We at Indie on the Move are very excited to introduce John Norris and Noisevox to our community! In the coming months, the IOTM Blog will be featuring the Noisevox Face Time series, which provides in depth looks into today's influential independent artists.

As most of our regular visitors have seen, we have made a bunch of updates to the site since launching on the new platform in October 2011. I would like to take this opportunity to outline some of the new features, so that we can ensure that all of you are getting the most out of your Indie on the Move experience...

Life is full of unrealistic expectations. Just ask Toronto-based rapper, Prolific. Today he is the archetype of the modern DIY musician: active in the local scene, nurturing collaborations on his own and other artist’s releases, and energetically investing in the power of social media. But, like many, he started with nothing but the youthful fantasy of being discovered, and whisked to notoriety based on the most menial of effort.

While new indie bands are happy if the venue offers a couple of beers on top of the few dollars for performing, they live in awe of the divas who have made the big time and make ridiculous requests for extras in their private room. Just how silly can those contractual conditions become?

Three years ago we set out to strengthen the relationship between venues and musicians in the world of independent touring. We had a few aces up our sleeves, and changed the way many bands approach their business. Now it is time to up the ante, again. Welcome to the new Indie on the Move!